Record number of cruise ships expected to visit Isle of Man in 2023

The island saw 42 cruise ships visit throughout the 2022 season

A record number of cruise ships are due to visit the Isle of Man this year, the Department for Enterprise has said.

More than 34,000 passengers and crew are expected throughout the 2023 season, a rise of 19,000 on 2022.

Fifty-nine vessels are due to visit, the first of which, Spitsbergen, is scheduled to arrive on Sunday with 250 visitors on a British Isles tour.

Enterprise member Tim Crookall said the cruise industry was a "key component" of visitor spending on the island.

The largest ship due to arrive in 2023, Nieuw Statendam, is scheduled to visit in August carrying more than 3,600 people.

Mr Crookall said the island's UNESCO Biosphere status would be "widely promoted" during the visits and tourists who came ashore would be "provided with opportunities to connect with our landscape and wildlife" as well as the island's heritage and local arts community.

The total number of ships due to visit during the 2023 season is the largest cohort since 2019, when the island greeted 47 vessels.

However, there were no visiting cruise ships for the following two years as a result of coronavirus pandemic border restrictions.

Mr Crookall said as well as those booked to visit in 2023, a further 44 were already booked for the 2024 season.